The Guitar Is Alive and Well

      It isn’t difficult to find an article about the reduced importance of the guitar to today’s music. Indie Obsessive’s position is that the instrument is doing well. A high percentage of Indie Rock and Pop bands include at least one guitar. One shift from the earlier decades of Rock is that there is more focus on other contributions. It is common for a guitar to support the synth contribution, rather than the reverse. Another shift is away from featuring guitar solos. Guitar virtuosity is not as important to today’s musicians. It still exists, but guitar virtuosity is less common.

 

       Still, the guitar lives on and will always be the favorite instrument of many music lovers, including us. Here are three strong Indie singles with a guitar emphasis and expertise.

     Holy Coves identifies itself as an Indie Psych Rock band from North Wales. “Away We Go” is a single from the album “Druids and Bards,” which is scheduled for release on October 14 via Yr Wyddfa Records. The credits for “Away We Go” identify:
  Scott Marsden - Vocals, & Guitar
  John Lawrence - Guitar (Gorky's Zygotic Mynci)
  Owain Ginsberg - Guitar & Synths (WE//ARE//ANIMAL / Hippies Vs Ghosts)
  Jason Hughes - Bass (The Painkillers)
  Spike T Smith - Drums (Morrissey / The Damned)

     “Away We Go” combines power percussion with the guitar that qualified the song for this post.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holycoves
Bandcamp: https://holycovesmusic.bandcamp.com/

     “In Spite Of It All” was released by Unquiet Nights several months ago, but it hasn’t garnered the attention it deserves. The band is driven by Luke Mathers (guitar and vocals) and Rodger Firmin (drums). They were joined by Francesco Piciucchi (bass, keyboards) and Matteo Bussotti (drums) for live performances. Unquiet Nights is based in Belfast, Ireland.

      “In Spite Of It All” by Unquiet Nights

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unquietnights
Website: https://www.unquietnights.com/
Bandcamp: https://unquietnights.bandcamp.com/track/in-spite-of-it-all
 

Lyrics of “In Spite Of It All” by Unquiet Nights

You ever feel like a sinking stone?

I needed something I could call my own

I saw Rachel by the side of the road

She didn't turn around, but she still seemed to know

She said your tomorrows they ain't guaranteed

You can't count on them, but you can count on me

Well maybe my advice will come a little too late

I only ever mix, I never drink the thing straight

 

You don't have to jump just 'cause they tell you to jump

You don't have to dance just 'cause they call you up

You don't learn to walk before you learn to crawl

But you keep moving forward still in spite of it all

 

Her belt buckle had a silvery glint

Her driver's ID had one major misprint

She said there were times that she would never forget

She said take it from me, I ain't seen anything yet

 

You don't have to jump just 'cause they tell you to jump

You don't have to dance just 'cause they call you up

You don't learn to walk before you learn to crawl

But you keep moving forward still in spite of it all

 

You don't have to jump just 'cause they tell you to jump

You don't have to dance just 'cause they call you up

You don't learn to walk before you learn to crawl

But you keep moving forward still in spite of it all

     “Sinking Like The Sun” is the first single from the EP “Algoriths” by Sins. The song takes an old-school approach to a “protest song,” but with new-school concerns. The band’s Soundcloud site states that it’s “a modern-day lament to the direction the world is going in: pollution, impossible beauty standards, the loss of jobs to AI, addiction to social media - you name it the song explores it.”

     Sins is based in Portsmouth, UK, and is comprised of Connor Reid, Aaron Evans, Sam Bennett, and Jack Rudland. 

 

     “Sinking Like The Sun” by Sins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SINSmusicuk

Lyrics of “Sinking Like The Sun” by Sins

There's some fins being sliced for a decadent soup

And kelp disappearing from the middle of the ocean

Leaders been elected in a frenzied commotion

Ain't it funny that their policies act in slow motion

 

Girls slapping mud on their beautiful faces

And lifting and injecting and dissecting and correcting every single imperfection 'til they look like something I can't relate to

Tell me ain't it ingraining to you

 

As we live a life that's so pixelated

Look at the sunrise through Instagram pages

And we walk on by a population so jaded

We look up to the sky but it don't stop raining, it's fading

And tell me ain't it ingraining to you

 

Our minds been sinking like the sun

Our minds been sinking like the sun

 

Plans for some flats on the dark of the moon

Trees leaving their roots at a time too soon

Teens living life in a meta cartoon

Consume you big baboons or be consumed

 

A boss staring at his new replacement

Glares at the lens which calculates his debasement

Cries his eyes out to the stonecold pavement

Then hold his hand out to the final payment, it's fading

And tell me ain't it ingraining to you

 

Our minds been sinking like the sun

Our minds been sinking like the sun

Our minds been sinking like the sun

Our minds been sinking like the sun